Jay Honeck must get an instrument rating

In article . com,
"M" wrote:

Except, in certain parts of the country, IFR means burning 1/3 more
fuel and flying 1/3 more distance, and 20 minutes extra delay in
takeoff.

more flying time is a GOOD thing.


- An instrument current pilot who loves to fly VFR for its freedom.

understood

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 27 Sep 2006 00:35:55 GMT, Matt Whiting
wrote in :

Steven P. McNicoll wrote:
"Margy Natalie" wrote in message
m...

The subject line says it all. I declare from this moment on all
rec.aviators should, on all possible occasions, pick on Jay Honeck for
not
having an instrument rating.



Why? Is there something wrong with not having an instrument rating?



Steven, you might want to check into the price of a sense of humor.
Hopefully, you can get a good deal!


Which clue was it that tipped you to Margy's facetious intent?

While she was obviously needling Mr. Honeck (ostensibly for his own
good), I didn't see any smiley nor find any humor worth a chuckle in
what she wrote.



Imagine that... And from an old sourpuss to boot...




---
avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean.
Virus Database (VPS): 0639-2, 09/26/2006
Tested on: 9/27/2006 6:24:14 AM
avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software.
http://www.avast.com

An Instrument Rating is yet another tool to help avoid weather, simply put.

Practically speaking, it is useful on; warm hazy days; low cloud covers,
non-convective ones & some reasonable ceiling; even on convective days, ifr
can be helpful to avoid buildups. It is quite helpful at night.

It is not a rating to fly into weather especially freezing clouds,
thunderstorms, hurricanes, and anything else not mentioned that might
jeopardize your airframe.

It does, in my opinion make one a better pilot, as subjective as that may
be.

WLS

I guess I'm in one of those certain parts - Southeast US. I get direct
even when I don't ask for it. The only time I have to use the airways
is around Wash DC and the eastern FL coast where it's just the best way
to do it.

I file almost every flight because it's just easier. I spend less time
managing flight around funky airspace. Seldom is there a delay and
when there is, I usually have the option of going VFR. Fact is, most of
my IFR flights are VFR.

Every aspect of it is better - just takes some effort and money like
everything else.

Ironically, I now find a VFR CC takes more preparation than an IFR CC in
good weather.

C'mon Jay!

M wrote:
Except, in certain parts of the country, IFR means burning 1/3 more
fuel and flying 1/3 more distance, and 20 minutes extra delay in
takeoff.

- An instrument current pilot who loves to fly VFR for its freedom.

NW_Pilot wrote:


An Instrument rating is only good if you keep current and proficient!!! An
IFR rating is a must if you travel beyond the U.S. borders as VFR out side
there USA can be a real pain in the ass! I file IFR just about every where I
go including with-in the U.S. I may forget how to fly VFR one day hahahahaha
once you get used to flying under IFR you notice how simple it is to get to
places and plan flights and how accurate you planning will be. You will look
at airways like hi-ways! Jay Honeck is one of the fer good guys on usenet no
need to pick on the guy for not having an IR!!!

The subject line says it all. I declare from this moment on all
rec.aviators should, on all possible occasions, pick on Jay Honeck for
not having an instrument rating.

Wait a minute...this seems a bit odd, coming from a pilot who *also*
doesn't have an instrument rating.

;-)

I know your post is tongue-in-cheek, but in the spirit of Usenet, I
will response in a semi-serious way. (Besides, Steven would be
disappointed if I didn't take this matter with the utmost
seriousness...)

I've been over this many times, here, internally, and with Mary, and my
reasons for not pursuing the rating at this time always come back to
the same four points:

1. Time. In 2002 I trained right up to the point where I was to be
signed off to take the IR flight test. Then we bought the hotel. It
just ain't gonna happen now, and never will until we get out of the
business we're in.

2. Utility. For giggles, we tracked our flying pattern for a year, and
kept track of the number of flights that we could have made with the
IR, that we didn't make VFR. In other words, how many flights were
cancelled because we didnt't have the rating.

The answer was amazing, to me. There were just a handfull -- three --
times that we would have flown with the IR, that we didn't fly. This
out of over 100 flights.

The reasons are simple: Most of our instrument weather in the upper
Midwest is of the kind that you would need a Pilatus (or better) to fly
in. Since we don't have icing capability, that essentially eliminates
flying in clouds from now through next March. And then the
thunderstorms start.

Now, if we lived in an area with lots of coastal fog, or high terrain,
things would be dramatically different. But we don't.

3. Instrument Flying Sucks. This is something I've rarely seen
discussed here (maybe never?), but instrument flying is one of the most
boring things I've done. Neither of us learned to fly so that we could
stare at what amounts to a computer screen for hours on end. In fact,
we learned to fly for the freedom of flight, and the sheer beauty of
the experience.

In other words, getting there -- not being there -- is the reason.

In the instrument flights I've flown, the flying experience has been
much closer to Microsoft Flight Simulator than any sort of a real
flying experience -- except that you actually ended up in Kansas City
at the end of the day. While there is a lot to be said for that, we
fly because we love to fly -- not simply to end up somewhere.

Further, flying the airways can truly ruin a flight, IMHO. Doing so
absolutely sucked the life out of the experience of flying past the
Grand Canyon last spring -- we simply couldn't see it because our
Victor airway didn't go that way, despite being in severe clear
weather.

THAT is not why I fly.

4. Safety. This may sound counter-intuitive, but of all the instrument
pilots I know -- and I know a LOT of pilots -- there is only ONE that I
would fly with in the soup. The rest are technically instrument
pilots, but they fly instruments so infrequently that I know -- and
they do, too -- that they are not proficient.

Why is this? Go back and read #3. Even pilots with the rating who fly
often report that maintaining proficiency is difficult, because it
means droning along under the foggles while everyone else is ooo-ing
and ah-ing about the fantastic fall colors. My basic fear is that I
would not maintain my instrument skills at a level high enough to
ensure that our flight safety would actually be enhanced by having the
rating.

In other words, I -- like so many before me -- would spend many hours
(and thousands of dollars) to end up an instrument pilot in name only.

Now, does all this mean that the rating isn't worth getting? Nope.
The instrument training made me a MUCH more precise and better pilot,
and I'm glad I went through it, even though I've not yet finished up.

In closing, getting the rating has long been a goal of mine, not unlike
touring Europe, or teaching myself HTML, or opening a restaurant. When
I get the time to do it right, it will happen, and it, too, will be
checked off my list of "Life Goals", just as I've ticked off all the
others.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

once you get used to flying under IFR you notice how simple it is to get to
places and plan flights and how accurate you planning will be.

Try that in the Northeast, NWPilot!

Jose
--
"Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where
it keeps its brain." (chapter 10 of book 3 - Harry Potter).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

3. Instrument Flying Sucks. [...] Neither of us learned
to fly so that we could
stare at what amounts to a computer screen for hours on end.

Well, there you're way wrong. Instrument flight can be the most
beautiful, transcendental experience in the air. Flitting in and out of
the tops of a broken or overcast layer, or even just getting =that=
close to clouds as you brush by (which you can't legally do in most VFR
situations) is also fun.

Most IFR flying is visual, which was frustrating in the days when you
needed six hours and six approaches (now the hours don't matter).

Further, flying the airways can truly ruin a flight, IMHO. Doing so
absolutely sucked the life out of the experience of flying past the
Grand Canyon last spring -- we simply couldn't see it because our
Victor airway didn't go that way, despite being in severe clear
weather.

Ask for a diversion, especially if you are severe clear (why were you
IFR at that point anyway?)

Jose
--
"Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where
it keeps its brain." (chapter 10 of book 3 - Harry Potter).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Well put.
Jim

"William Snow" wrote in message
. ..
An Instrument Rating is yet another tool to help avoid weather, simply
put.

Practically speaking, it is useful on; warm hazy days; low cloud covers,
non-convective ones & some reasonable ceiling; even on convective days,
ifr
can be helpful to avoid buildups. It is quite helpful at night.

It is not a rating to fly into weather especially freezing clouds,
thunderstorms, hurricanes, and anything else not mentioned that might
jeopardize your airframe.

It does, in my opinion make one a better pilot, as subjective as that may
be.

WLS

Matt Whiting wrote:

You're wrong. I have a wonderful sense of humor.

That may be, but you have an impaired ability to detect humor in
comments by others.


Matt

Matt, that is a very common occurrence in this type forum. I seldom
add smileys even when joking.

Ron Lee

Emily wrote:

Hehehe...I used that line on a student once and his response was, "I've
flown in the clouds before and lived, so what's wrong with not having
one?" Got rid of that one real quick. Who needs that kind of liability?

Man, that's why I don't have kids.

Hmmm. No kids. A pilot. This could be love.

Ron Lee